Abdu'l-Baha - Authority

His [‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s] words are not equal in rank, though they possess an equal validity with the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh.(Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 139)

I urge them to study profoundly the revealed utterances of Bahá’u’lláh and the discourses of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá …(Shoghi Effendi, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 417)

In regard to whether talks and Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá could be read in the Temple auditorium: “...the Guardian advised that these should not be used in the devotional services in the Temple….”(Universal House of Justice, Lights of Guidance, no. 2066)

The Bahá’í Faith has two sources of authoritative interpretation: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Whose authority is derived from His appointment in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Kitáb-i-‘Ahd (Book of the Covenant) as the Centre of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, and the Guardian, whose authority is derived from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament.” (The Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 389)

The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsan, the Afnan and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book: ‘When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.’ The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch [‘Abdu’l-Bahá]. Thus have We graciously revealed unto you Our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful.(Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 221)

When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.’ The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch [‘Abdu’l-Bahá]. Thus have We graciously revealed unto you Our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful.(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Ahd in Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 221)

With regard to the definition of “verses of God", Bahá’u’lláh states that it refers to “all that hath been sent down from the Heaven of Divine Utterance”. Shoghi Effendi, in a letter written to one of the believers in the East, has clarified that the term “verses of God” does not include the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; he has likewise indicated that this term does not apply to his own writings.(Notes to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, no. 165)